"I visited him in the hospital." She bowed her head, a capsized expression crossing her face. "Mi hijo... I absolutely hated seeing him like that. His face all beat and bruised, no emotions on his face..." the big woman closed her eyes and took a sip of her coffee, deeply breathing.

Alexia's lips pursed into a firm line, choking back her own sobs. She was sitting in the school cafeteria with Maria, whom she hadn't spoken to for a long time. In all of this drama and chaos everyone forgot all about her and about the close bond she had with Jason. After all, he used to call her madre. To him, Pattie wasn't his only motherly figure.

"I pray to God every day. He doesn't deserve this. I was shocked to hear he was found again, but I didn't expect him to be in a coma." Maria opened her eyes and tried to smile it off, but Alexia easily noticed the blink of tears in the corners of her eyes.

"He'll wake up, Maria." She whispered, because there was nothing else she could say. She also sipped of her Antoccino, trying to drown her thoughts with coffee. Poor Maria wasn't over Jason missing yet, and suddenly he's back after months, only to be in a coma. It was already difficult for Alexia, imagine being in Maria's position.

"I know, mi Vida. Dios doesn't work like that, God would never leave Jason to his own fate. He's a good man and I am proud of him. It's just hard to see him like this. This is definitely not his year."

"Definitely not." Alexia agreed, gulping. All week she's been feeling like she was the one to blame. Before she came back there were no difficulties and he was living a normal life, but now? Now he's spending his time running away and lastly, fighting for his life. Literally. If she hadn't come back this all wouldn't have happened.

If you hadn't come back you would still be feigning being smitten over Damian.

But, she wouldn't have seen his true colours, either.

"You're okay?" Maria raised her eyebrows. Alexia shrugged, "I don't think I will be as long as he's not awake."

"I get that." She nodded, "But you're so young, Alexia! I know how hard it is, trust me, but live. You're in college, you're engaged, you have everything you could possibly wish for. If you don't want to live for yourself, do it for Jason. He would hate seeing you moping like this."

She had a point.

"I guess so." Alexia groaned, "I just don't know how to deal with this! Like, I'm always in the hospital and somehow I still beg him to wake up every single day."

Maria sighed and softly grabbed Alexia's hand. "We won't give up on him."

That she wouldn't.

-

"Excited?" Cat smiled meekly, her perfectly polished nails flattening her skirt. Her heels click-clacked as she walked, her long dark hair bouncing around her head gracefully with every step. Cat's been working hard on herself lately. After their mom's passing she was an emotional, sobbing mess, and Alexia could already tell that she hated herself for it. Nevertheless, she seemed recovered and even better than first.

"Whatever." Alexia waved a hand dismissively. She felt stupid standing next to her older sister. Whereas Catalina was dressed perfectly for the occasion, Alexia hadn't bothered and wore jeans and trainers. She wasn't in the mood and she definitely wouldn't ever be, not for what they were going to do now anyway. "Did dad tell you he kicked me out?"

"Yeah. I overheard Teo and him yelling at each other." Cat averted her gaze and looked at the street in front of her.

"What did they say?"

"Teo was telling him how stupid he was or something like that, and you know dad, he of course wouldn't take that."

"Of course." Alexia snapped, "He gets pissed about Teo calling him stupid but doesn't listen to what he has to say. Typical."

"Well..." Cat hesitated, glancing at her little sister before she muttered, "I did hear him say that you could come back home if you apologized to Damian."

"Which I'm not going to do."

"Why?" Cat threw her arms in the air, "Dad said you accused him of being the reason that mom is dead. That's kind of harsh, sis. I know that you and Damian are having some issues, but he's still your fiancé and it's rude to say stuff like that."

"Oh my God." Alexia emitted a bitter chuckle, shaking her head. "I'm not a fucking kid, Cat. You don't have to explain to me what's rude and what's not."

She shrugged.

"I didn't say it just to be rude. It's true." It baffled her how no one even tried to believe her. Isn't her family supposed to know her better than anyone? If they did, they'd know she wouldn't just say it if it weren't true.

Cat snorted, "Don't start with me, Alex. You don't have to lie to me."

Deep breaths, Alexia. "I am not lying." She hissed, "Why the fuck would I lie about that? Haven't you noticed that you and dad are the only ones questioning this matter?"

"Our brothers are stupid. They never liked Damian anyway."

"No," Alexia stressed, "They're not stupid, they're smart. They know all about Damian and his psychotic shenanigans. They're trying to protect us, but dad won't listen to them or me. You know that he's tried to kill Jason, right?"

Cat did nothing but look away and proceeded the walk in silence. After a few moments, she shot back an answer. "Jason is not innocent."

Alexia stopped midst her tracks, forcing her sister to stop with her. Did Catalina really just discard whatever she'd said by replying, 'Jason is not innocent'? "Excuse me?"

Cat crossed her arms in front of her chest impatiently. "He's not. Did you know that he came barging into the house a few months ago, beating Damian up? Poor Damian didn't even get to defend himself."

Wow.

It had never before occurred Alexia that her older sister was an imbecile until now. She reeled with disgust as the words 'poor Damian' echoed through her head, making her stomach twist wretchedly. The fact that anyone even dared to utter those words astounded her.

"You know what?" she looked at Cat, her eyes narrowed, "After today, I won't even speak to you. You're so far up his ass that you can't see what's right in front of you. So far up my fiancé's ass, may I add. It's fine, you can have him. I have Jason—who's in a coma because of fucking Damian. Poor Damian."

-

They arrived twenty minutes later. The garden looked marvellous; raw, tremendous trees hovered over the lush, short-chipped grass. Numerous flowers blossomed on the sides in a variety of exotic colours; blue, orange, yellow, pink. The fresh scent of Brugmansias, roses and chocolate cosmoses quickly filled their nostrils. There was a little pond with ducks and water lilies. It was warm out, the sweet May air wove around them nicely. The sun just started to lower and it created an otherworldly atmosphere.

Alexia was in absolute awe. She stood still and motionless, her eyes scanning every centimetre of the garden. She almost teared up staring at the countless butterflies, bees and other flying creatures. This place was too beautiful. Too beautiful for the wedding she wasn't planning on having.

"Do you like it, miss?" The older man smiled sweetly. Cat looked at Alexia expectantly, but when she realized Alexia wasn't going to respond, she did it for her. Fight or not—they were sisters, and she would back her sister up if she had to.

"It's absolutely beautiful, sir. My sister is clearly speechless."

The man nodded happily. "Do you reckon it's good enough for your wedding?"

Cat had talked Alexia into looking for venues. The hotel they'd previously settled for had to cancel on them due to some difficulties, which lead to Alexia having no venue for her wedding. She didn't care, she wouldn't marry Damian anyway. Cat, however, had gone berserk. She stated that it was 'unprofessional' and 'idiotic' to cancel on such short notice and practically forced Alexia to start looking for a new venue.

Alexia didn't give in and ignored all of her sister's desperate attempts to get her to care. Finally, she agreed to come with just to shut her up.

But she didn't expect this.

Cat had always had flawless taste, but this was phenomenal.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that question for her." Cat glanced at Alexia again, softly nudging her shoulder. Alexia looked up and blinked away the tears, meeting the old man's eyes, "It's beautiful."

"It will be more beautiful in August. The sun will shine just perfectly, trust me."

Alexia nodded. "I can imagine."

"So, does that mean that you'll get married here?" The man never averted his gaze, a hopeful smile curling his lips. Alexia froze again, her eyebrows slowly downing on her eyes. The place was enchanting, yes, but she wasn't going to get married. There would be no wedding. Tears pooled in her eyes again as she realized the pathetic turn her life had taken in just a few months.

Her fiancé turned out to be a psychopath. The man she loved was in the hospital, fighting for his life. Her fiancé caused that. People thought there was going to be a wedding. Her mom had passed away. Her fiancé caused that. Her dad kicked her out. She was still engaged.

Jason.

She couldn't even imagine getting married to Damian—her stupid self kept imagining the wedding to be with Jason.

As if the fantasy isn't ridiculous enough on its own, they weren't even sure whether Jason would ever wake up.

Oh, God.

Alexia shut her eyes tightly, blocking out the silent whispering of the man and Cat. Dear God, she thought, please, let him wake up. I can't do this on my own.

She sighed deeply.

I'm trying.

It was his voice, raspy, low and thick with guilt. Alexia whimpered, keeping her eyes closed. She ignored his voice, I beg of you, God, I promise that I'll agree to this place if you help him. Please. He deserves to live more than I do.

His voice was absent this time.

She took another deep breath, raking her mind. Please! I'd die for him.

There was no Jason-voice in her head, nor was there a God-voice.

If a bird chirps, she thought, I'll pick this venue. But, that means that you'll get Jason to wake up. It's a deal, and you can't break it. You're god, after all.

And then, a bird chirped.

-

"I think it's great you picked that place! I knew you'd love it." Cat kept babbling about the garden as she took tiny bites of her fry. They'd grabbed food on their way home, both forgetting about the fight they had earlier on. Alexia decided she was too exhausted to continue staying mad so she vowed to do that another time. Besides, she'd missed her sister and needed the company.

It was around 7 o'clock and instead of Cat going home to have dinner and Alexia having dinner in her dorms, they just bought fries and walked towards the bus station. Cat talked most of the time and Alexia listened.

"It was nice." She replied quietly, shoving three fries down her throat. Cat's stare lingered on her for a short while before she resumed her endless talking. "Right? So beautiful! And the way the sun shined... It was almost magical. I knew you loved it by the way you answered. You were like, thinking, and then you said 'yes' without hesitation and," she groaned, "God, I'm jealous. You're getting married!"

Alexia simpered. Her sister was more excited than she'd ever been.

"I couldn't stop imagining you in that gorgeous dress standing by the alter in the garden! I almost—" Cat got cut off by Alexia's ringtone.

Alexia quickly grabbed her phone out of her pocket and tapped on 'decline' when she saw it was just Chaz calling her.

"Continue." She feigned happiness, looking at Cat. Cat smiled. "So, what was I saying? Oh right! I almost teared up, you've gotten so big!"

Alexia chuckled.

"And you look so much like mom." Cat slowly added, her brows furrowed. Alexia's breathing hitched in her throat and her head sharply shot up, looking at Cat in surprise. Neither of them had a good bond with their mother, but she was still their mother. She was a difficult topic and everyone usually talked around it—especially Cat—so it was surprising to hear those words come out of her mouth.

Alexia's phone rang again. She declined the call again, inwardly rolling her eyes. The caller-ID said it was Ryan calling.

"That's... I don't know what to say." She murmured. Cat snickered. "I know. You don't have to say anything. I'm just proud of you."

In that moment, Alexia was ready to spill everything about Damian. From the beginning till the end, from the Maldives till Mexico.

But then her phone rang again. She groaned and declined Chloe's call, immediately putting her phone off and throwing it back in her pocket. Cat raised her eyebrows, "Your friends are trying to reach you."

"I know, but they can talk to me later. I'm hanging out with my sister now."

They both smiled.

The walk to the bus station was slow but unusually fun. It had been a long while since Alexia and Cat got the chance to do something together, so this was long-needed.

The air, however, grew strangled once they arrived. They were supposed to part ways here; Cat would take her car and drive back home, and Alexia would take the bus to her dormitory.

"It feels wrong to both go another way." Cat stated. Alexia nodded. She fully agreed.

"Why don't you... just come home with me? Dad would be happy to see you, Lex." Cat picked her words carefully and licked her lips anxiously, waiting for Alexia's answer.

Alexia shook her head. "I can't do that. He kicked me out."

"Only till you apologize to Damian, Alex. You can do that."

Alexia snorted, "Don't start again, Cat. I will never, in my entire life, apologize to that man. You don't know the shit I know."

"Then explain to me!"

Alexia pursed her lips into a firm line. Could she tell or not? Her sister was very chatty, that was sure, but she was still her sister. She wouldn't judge or scold her and she definitely wouldn't try persuading her into coming home after hearing the whole story.

"Come on, Lex. I know something's very wrong—I'm not stupid. I see the way you, Stef, Dom and Teo are acting. I'm always left out. Just tell me what's wrong, I promise I'll believe you." She was almost begging as she pouted and grabbed Alexia's wrist, "Please."

In that moment, Alexia decided Cat was right. She was always the one to be left out and it probably made her feel like absolute shit. So, Alexia took out her phone, about to search for a picture of Jason's back when she realized her notifications were blowing up.

"Wait," she murmured, frowning. Seventeen missed calls from Chloe. Twenty four missed calls from Ryan. Eighteen missed calls from Chaz. Three missed calls from Pattie. Fifteen missed calls from Stefano. Seven missed calls from Dominic. Two missed calls from Carina.

One missed call from Damian.

"What's going on?" Cat mimicked her actions, glancing at Alexia's screen. "Jesus," she muttered, "They really are trying to reach you. Call them back!"

A prickle of suspicion took root in her belly as she unlocked her phone and shakily went to her contacts. She didn't want to get her hopes up, but Alexia was almost certain that this had to do with Jason. Either Jason was awake, or he was dead.

She had decided to call Ryan. He'd taken his time picking up, but he did it eventually.

"Alexia!" he called out—obnoxiously loud, may she add. Alexia swallowed uncomfortably, "Yeah. What's going on?"

Ryan laughed loudly. "You have got to get over here!"

"Where, Ryan? Jeez." Alexia impatiently pressed her tongue against the insides of her cheek, shifting her weight from her left to her right foot. Ryan sounded happy, more than he had been in the past few weeks. That means well, right?

"The hospital!"

Her heart skipped a beat and she drew in a sharp breath, her eyes widening. "Why?" she urged, but deep inside she could already guess.

"He's awake! He's up, Alex!"

That's all he needed to say. A surge of euphoria rushed through her veins as she grabbed the pole by the bus station, trying to regain her balance. She couldn't help but feel tears brimming in her eyes as she muttered, "You're kidding."

"No, I swear to God, Lex. He's awake. He's actually awake." Ryan let out another wholehearted laugh, "The doctors are inside now, but when they finish we can go see him. You need to hurry the hell up and get your ass to the hospital."

Oh God, ogodogodogodogod, he was awake!

He was alive. His eyes were open. He could move. He could speak.

All of her worries skimmed away as she felt her entire body light up in ecstasy. Quickly, she wiped away the tears that had rolled down her cheeks and broke out into fits of laughter, unable to stifle the wide grin gracing her lips.

Thank you, God.

Whether her prayer from earlier was the reason or not; Jason had made it.

"I'm coming right now." She stressed. She hung up after an overjoyed 'good bye' from Ryan and hid her phone again, looking at Cat with bright eyes. Cat's lips were curled into a small smile, "It's Jason, isn't it?"

Alexia nodded. "Yes," her heart kept beating at a fast pace, "He's up. You don't know how relieved I am, Cat."

"I can see." Cat snickered and wrapped an arm around Alexia's shoulders, pulling her into a hug. "I guess you're going to the hospital?"

"Damn right I am."

"Good luck, sis." Cat kissed both her cheeks. Alexia brushed away her tears and thanked her sister, involuntarily crying again. She just couldn't believe it.

However, good luck? She didn't need that. She had everything she wanted.

-

The waiting area was packed. Nurses and doctors moved throughout the place with scowls on their faces as they irritably eyed the seated individuals, but no one cared. Ryan and Chaz were in their highest spirits, patiently sitting on the chairs closest to Jason's room. Chaz nervously fiddled with his fingers as Ryan leant against the leaning laxly, a lazy smile taking over his entire face.

Chloe sat next to Chaz, a hand wrapped around his bicep as she whispered soothing words, trying to calm her boyfriend down. She, too, was exasperatedly excited to see how one of her friends had woken up out of a deep slumber.

Pattie and Jeremy had been inside for nearly an hour before they slowly made their way out, permanently beaming. Pattie's eyes were glossy with happy tears as she entwined her hand with Jeremy's, who admittedly, looked like he had shed a tear or two as well.

Ryan and Chaz shot up immediately, expectantly looking at the pair with wide eyes.

"He's okay." Pattie simpered, a single tear rolling down her cheeks, "H-he's s-so strong."

"Can we go in?" Chaz questioned, almost jumping up and down. Alarm crossed Jeremy's face. Ryan didn't miss it.

"What? What's wrong?" he snapped, his eyebrows furrowing. The relaxed vibe of just seconds ago had totally left the surface. Jeremy sighed, shaking his head. "Nothing's wrong. He's okay, boys. It's just..."

"It's just what?"

Jeremy seemed to fight an internal battle before he mumbled, "You can go in. Don't speak too loudly and keep the lights dimmed. He's still in a lot of pain but he's definitely conscious and speaking. You'll see for yourself."

"Is it bad?"

"You'll see for yourself." He repeated, meekly smiling. The smile was feigned, that was clear. Though Jeremy appeared extremely relieved and undeniably merry, there was still a little piece of him that seemed morose, and the guys weren't liking it.

Nervously, they turned around and sauntered over to Jason's room.

-

Alexia was breathless once she arrived. Her chest heaved up and down as she stumbled her way through the hospital, impolitely pushing people out of her way. She didn't care, she couldn't care.

That is, until she pushed an older grandma hard enough for the poor woman to fall.

"Oh my god," she stressed, instantly crouching down to help the woman get up. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!"

The grandma glared at her and lipped, "Don't touch me!"

"Again—I'm so sorry miss." Alexia tried pulling her up, but she pried herself out of Alexia's hold, annoyance vibrating off her. "Kids these days." She sneered, shaking her head. Alexia apologized until she was out of sight and continued her scavenger hunt for Jason's room, trying to be more careful.

Soon enough, she'd made it to his section. She could already see Ryan and Chaz slumped down in two of the seats while Chloe was pacing through the room, a distressed expression on her face. Jeremy and Pattie were nowhere to be found and other than those three it was practically empty.

"You guys!" she barged inside, still heavily breathing. The three of them looked up and Ryan smiled almost apologetically.

What? Why would he do that? Shouldn't he be elated?

"Hi babe." Chloe stepped forward and engulfed Alexia into a strong hug, one Alexia didn't mind returning though she was crazily impatient.

"Is everything... alright?" she asked, looking at Chloe. Chloe's smile faltered and she shrugged, pulling away. "They're not letting me tell you anything, but you'll find out yourself."

Alexia averted her gaze and looked at Ryan and Chaz. Chaz looked happy but wasn't bouncing in excitement as she had expected him to do, and Ryan almost acted cautiously. "Is he okay?" she wondered out loud, already panicking.

"He's fine, he's fine." Ryan quickly assured her.

"Then what's with you?"

"Just go see him." Ryan answered, cocking his head subtly. Alexia waltzed through the waiting room and stopped midst her tracks when she reached the door. She looked at her three friends shortly, "I don't know why you're acting like this."

"You'll find out."

"Yeah but you're scaring me, Ryan." No lies there.

Ryan sighed. "Just go, Lex. Seriously."

She frowned and turned around, quietly slipping inside the room as she forced herself to momentarily forget about the weird encounter she had with her best friends. Whatever it was, it would come later.

The room was dark due to the lights being dimmed, but she could still see clearly. The curtains were drawn closed and the only sound in the room was the oh-so-known beeping of Jason's heart monitor.

It took her a while before she gathered all of her courage to look at him, and when she did she couldn't look away.

There he was, sitting straight up against the wall. His white hospital gown was showing for the first time in forever and his inked arms were crossed in his lap, the wires attached to his hands over passing.

His beautiful golden locks laid flat on his head, whirling in front of his eyes in a mixture of gold and brown. His eyes were closed and a sweet simper graced his lip, satisfied.

Alexia took a deep breath and stepped closer to his bed, silently choking back the sob that had threatened to come up. His cheeks were full with colours—other than the yellow bruises and white scars—full with life. He looked godly, majestic even.

And then, he opened his eyes. Alexia gasped as she stared at his beautiful brown orbs, nearly wailing again.

Thank you God.

He looked back at her observantly, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"Alexia?"

His voice wasn't more than a guttural whisper, probably because he hadn't spoken in weeks, but either way, Alexia felt how her heart exploded and the waterworks began.